Cases of Interest.
NST is currently involved in a wide range of matters.
- for companies, shareholders and directors in respect of corporate governance, securities, oppression and/or director/officer liability issues, including derivative actions;
- in major construction disputes:
- in partnership disputes including questions of the existence of partnership;
- in international litigation and international enforcement of judgments;
- in subrogated insurance claims;
- for defendants in class actions;
- for major Canadian financial institutions in various stages of litigation;
- for parties involved in major civil forfeiture proceedings in British Columbia;
- for receivers, debtors and creditors in various insolvency proceedings;
- in various professional negligence and professional regulatory proceedings;
- for parties in the cannabis industry involved in commercial and shareholder disputes;
- for parties in disputes relating to issues involving property division, title, access, and major property and development projects;
- for parties in significant family business and wealth disputes;
- for parties in commercial disputes relating to small pleasure and commercial aircraft;
- in disputes between franchisors and franchisees.
The following are substantial cases of interest in which NST has been involved.
The9 Limited v. Skychain Technologies Inc.
On September 20, 2022, the Supreme Court of British Columbia released its judgment in The9 Limited v. Skychain Technologies Inc., 2022 BCSC 1666, following a one-day application for judgment by NST’s clients, The9 Limited and 1111 Limited. The plaintiffs had advanced $4 million to the defendant, Skychain Technologies Inc., for the construction of a crypto currency mining project in Birtle, Manitoba. The advance was split into the following: two million dollars was paid for shares and warrants, and two million dollars was advanced as debt under convertible debentures.
Skeena Resources Ltd. v. Mill
2022 BCSC 1360 and 2022 BCSC 2032
Partner Karen Carteri acts for Richard Mill, a recorded holder of mineral rights in connection with a dispute relating to a mineral claim in British Columbia. The opposing party is Skeena Resources Ltd., whose predecessors, Prime Resources Group Inc. and Barrick Gold Corporation, operated a gold mine known as the Eskay Creek mine between 1994 and 2008. The central issue in dispute is the rights to the minerals contained in certain valuable gold mine tailings from the former Eskay Creek mine
Wolverton Pacific Partnership v. Triple F Investments Ltd.
2022 BCSC 1074 and 2022 BCCA 262
NST was successful before both the British Columbia Supreme Court and Court of Appeal in a dispute between shareholders of a real estate holding company.
Law Society of British Columbia v. Guo
NST successfully represented the Law Society of British Columbia at the British Columbia Court of Appeal in an important appeal dealing with the definition of “trust funds” under the Law Society’s Rules. The Court of Appeal affirmed a Law Society Tribunal decision that funds received by a lawyer pursuant to fixed or flat fee arrangement for services to be performed are trust funds that must be deposited into a trust account until the services have been performed, unless there is an express agreement with the client.
Bamberger v. Vancouver (Board of Parks and Recreation)
NST acted for the petitioners in this judicial review of two orders of the General Manager of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, while defending a petition for an injunction brought by the Park Board. Together with co-counsel at Arvay Finlay LLP, Julia Riddle successfully argued that decisions fundamentally affecting the lives of people who are homeless should not be made without hearing from those persons, and that the court should not condone by injunction the displacement of people who are causing no harm and have nowhere else to go.